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A Recent Conversation

A Recent Conversation

Mina: So how is the new work-in-progress going?
Me: Really well! I mean, I got up to chapter 18 and I was flowing and everything. Wrote a couple thousand words last month, but then… (sigh)
Mina: …?
Me: Well, I was writing, and everything was going fine, but then my young, energetic, American female character strong-armed a young man to the ground. I don’t know how it happened! One minute she was being very nice and chatty, the next, strong-arming him to the ground! That would have never happened in 1887 Victorian London!
Mina: (laughs)
Me: So I’m hitting the books again. I need to give her something else to do, something that will cause a scandal but still interest the English aristocracy, not scare them away. (I shake my head.) Strong-arming a guy to the ground. Who does that?

It’s one thing to be unique, but to be so modern! I’m appalled. But thanks to my character, I’m learning a lot about how the 1870s Anglomania (specifically in New York, Boston, Washington DC, Ohio, etc) started. Despite the fact that the English aristocracy most staunchly supported the Confederacy during the American Civil War, a mere ten years earlier.

How many of you have had a character that broke out of his or her time period so completely? What have you done to rein them in? Or have you changed your story/time period to fit the character?

12 Comments

Yeah, I'm still doing research about it. This book I'm reading is so full of information! And I have all of these pages tagged to copy and paste (literally) into my research notebook. Gives me a great start on the sequel!

Yeah, I’m still doing research about it. This book I’m reading is so full of information! And I have all of these pages tagged to copy and paste (literally) into my research notebook. Gives me a great start on the sequel!

Ooh, yeah, I hear you on this problem. I just had my female protag. knock out the Crown Prince…

My WIP is fantasy, but largely historical too. Plenty of times I'm wondering if my characters are doing things that are too modern. So far, I've let things stand, chalking it up to the basic fact that in the end, the world in the book isn't this world!

Ooh, yeah, I hear you on this problem. I just had my female protag. knock out the Crown Prince…
My WIP is fantasy, but largely historical too. Plenty of times I’m wondering if my characters are doing things that are too modern. So far, I’ve let things stand, chalking it up to the basic fact that in the end, the world in the book isn’t this world!

I am really looking forward to reading your finished WIP! Every once in a while you talk about it on yur blog and it sounds right up my reading alley. Also, you are tearing through books, lady! How do you have time for all of that reading?

I am really looking forward to reading your finished WIP! Every once in a while you talk about it on yur blog and it sounds right up my reading alley. Also, you are tearing through books, lady! How do you have time for all of that reading?

I would read while I eat, but it seems that is one time when I cannot multi-task. I have a hard time holding a conversation while eating: I'm either doing a lot of talking, or I'm eating, but I can never seem to find a happy middle.

The secret to all my reading, I think, is this: I read while I eat meals. Since my cat is a lousy conversationalist over dinner, I grab a book and read, often during all three meals a day. And before bed. And in the evenings after work. And when I have to wait for something somewhere… you get the idea.

The secret to all my reading, I think, is this: I read while I eat meals. Since my cat is a lousy conversationalist over dinner, I grab a book and read, often during all three meals a day. And before bed. And in the evenings after work. And when I have to wait for something somewhere… you get the idea.

I would read while I eat, but it seems that is one time when I cannot multi-task. I have a hard time holding a conversation while eating: I’m either doing a lot of talking, or I’m eating, but I can never seem to find a happy middle.